n More than a decade after their initial
diagnoses, nearly four out of 10 cancer
survivors are still plagued by symptoms
of post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD), according to new research from
the Duke Cancer Institute. Researchers
surveyed 566 survivors of non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma and found that 37 percent of
participants experienced persisting or
worsening PTSD symptoms, including
flashbacks and avoidance, over five years.
The study also showed that low-income
survivors are especially vulnerable to the
psychological effects of a cancer diagnosis
(Journal of Clinical Oncology, Oct. 11).

n Rats exposed to an antidepressant
just before and after birth showed
substantial brain abnormalities and
irregular behaviors that persist into
adulthood. Scientists at the University
of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson,
gave citalopram — a serotonin-selective
reuptake inhibitor — to male and female
rat pups before and after their birth and
examined their brains and behaviors as
they grew. The male rat pups became
excessively fearful when faced with
new situations and shunned normal
juvenile play behavior. Some female
rats were also similarly affected, but the
effects were not as pronounced as in the
males. The researchers also discovered
miswiring between the brain’s left and
right hemispheres (Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, Oct. 24).

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The stress of living in poverty affects children’s readiness for school.

n Poverty-related stress negativelyaffects children’s readiness forschool, finds a study by scientists atPennsylvania State University, NewYork University and the University ofNorth Carolina at Chapel Hill. Theteam measured levels of the stresshormone cortisol in 1,300 youngchildren and administered tests toassess their executive function — agroup of cognitive processes consideredimportant for adjusting to school andmaking academic progress in the earlyelementary grades. They found thatchildren in lower-income homes hadhigher levels of cortisol than childrenin slightly better-off homes – and thathigher levels of cortisol were associatedwith lower levels of executive functionabilities (Child Development, Oct. 25).

n College football players who express
their emotions have more confidence,
according to research from Indiana
University-Bloomington. In one
experiment, 150 college football players
were randomly assigned to four groups
to read vignettes about “Jack,” a football
player who cries after a football game.
In the vignettes, Jack either sobs or tears
up after his team loses or wins. The
college football players in the study who